Millwall boss Neil Harris is prepared to put player loyalty aside after the Lions' 3-2 defeat at Preston.

Harris vowed to get ruthless with his team selection after another disappointing result that leaves Millwall three from bottom in the Championship.

"If they don't perform better than they are then I’ve got to change them,” Harris told the club website.

"We have to be better. I don’t care if people are here until the end of the season or if they’re here for seven years.

"We have to be realistic. If we can’t improve our results then something has to change, something has to change. I love my job, so that isn’t changing. I have to change the players, and that’s not a threat, that is just the reality of it.”

READ: Signings to save Millwall's season?

Alan Browne, Tom Barkhuizen and Andrew Hughes scored for the hosts, while a Jake Cooper goal and a late Lee Gregory strike served as consolation for the visitors.

Speaking after the game a clearly frustrated Harris said the 90 minutes at Deepdale summed up the Bermondsey outfit's season ‘in a nutshell.’

"It is our Groundhog Day, isn’t it? We conceded probably five or six chances in the whole game and conceded three goals. We created ten clear-cut chances and scored two.

“Ultimately we got nothing from the game.

"I can’t keep saying it’s bad luck, people have to take responsibility. They’re brilliant lads, they have great camaraderie, I love working with them every day. But ultimately, we’ve just conceded too many goals this year.

"I have to be honest enough to say we have to change what we’re doing, or I have to change personnel. It pains you to say it because I love the boys, they’re absolutely brilliant.”

READ: Millwall defender signs new 'long-term' deal

Harris' thoughts will spark a flurry of activity in January you would think, but before then he will have to negotiate the busy Christmas schedule.

“We’ve got a really tough game next week against Stoke, who’ve got a budget about five or 10 times bigger than ours, but we’ve got to compete.”